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Declaring Independence: The Beginning of the End of the Two-Party System

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Douglas Schoen argues, in his book "Declaring Independence," that the two-party system in American politics is breaking down and I couldn't agree with him more. He suggests that the time is ripe for a third political party which has real clout and a real chance to win the White House. Again, I completely agree. Furthermore, Schoen cites statistics that show more and more American voters are leaving the Democrat and Republican parties and declaring themselves to be "Independents." I have seen that happening myself among my own friends and acquaintances.

Call it Synchronicity or just plain coincidence, but it was only seven or eight months ago that I was discussing the field of candidates for the presidential race in 2008 with some of my fellow political junkies and I made the (at the time) bold remark that "if there was ever a time for a third-party candidate to make a successful run for the White House, 2008 could be that year because of the polarization of political thought in this country by the politicians themselves and the widespread dissatisfaction with the performance of both major political parties." I did not know that others were thinking along the same lines. I'm pleased to see that my proposition has been somewhat validated by a political professional such as Douglas Schoen. I don't feel like a such a "kook" now.

I left the Republican party myself many years ago and refused to join any other party simply because of what I perceived to be a failure of a principled response to the major issues I saw impacting our society. I could not determine a real difference between the Democrats and the Republicans when it came to actually "doing" something as opposed to simply "talking" about it. From that time on, I guess I looked on myself as an "Independent," but without an independent party to join. As close as I came during one election cycle was to think about signing up with the Libertarian party because I was impressed with its candidates at the time. Schoen informs us that independent voters now constitute the largest group of the electorate, so I don't feel so alone now. I'm finally the member of some majority for once!

This book provides the reader with an excellent general background of the third-party movements which have occurred in our history and why most of them failed. He also provides an excellent overview of the problems which any third party is going to face, including the very serious problem of getting on the ballot in the first place (and the shameful practices of both major parties in trying to prevent ballot access to other parties). The author also provides the reader with extremely helpful charts and graphs to illustrate the statistics relevant to his topic.

I think one of the most valuable chapters in the book deals with the role of the Internet in national elections and the possibilities it presents for third-party enhancement. The growth of so-called "social networking" on the Web, as well as the development of "interactive" websites and specialized websites, search engine optimization, instant video, text messaging, and, especially, the proliferation of "blogging" will undoubtedly play significant roles in making it possible for formerly unknown candidates and third parties to take their case to a large public. And to do so on the cheap, so to speak. As Schoen points out: "All these items add up to one incontrovertible conclusion. We'll have access to campaign news all the time. You'll know more than you ever did before about any potential candidate, and you'll know it sooner and in greater detail."

Deliberate or not, the timing for the publishing of "Declaring Independence" couldn't have been better. I see more enthusiasm among young people for politics and the upcoming election than I've seen in years. And I've been around more elections than I suspect Mr. Schoen has. (I can recall vividly the Truman-Dewey race from the newsreels we kids saw at the Saturday matinees.) With the sort of interest that now seems to have been generated among the young voters in our country, I would urge these young voters to read Schoen's book and consider the possibility of going from a rather dull and dingy two-party system to supporting the idea of a three- or even four-party system that could provide a broader range of candidates and solutions to the issues before us.

The author is to be congratulated for bringing this important subject to the public at this time. His book is timely, informative, provocative, and insightful. Can't ask for much more than that. Highly recommended.

As a 32 year old, I have been voting for third party candidates for 14 years (mainly libertarians). As such, I was quite excited to read this book, which deftly makes the case for why third party candidates are needed, but why they may be able to win in the current political climate.

Douglas Schoen is a political consultant and strategies. As such, he is able to insightfully read and interpret poll data and also outline winning strategies. The first part of his book looks at recent poll data in order to make a strong case for why people are more likely than ever to accept and vote for a candidate not Republican or Democrat. More and more people are voicing dissatisfaction with party-line-politics and registering as independents. More and more votes are up for grabs.

Also, Schoen goes through the varied and wonderful history of third party candidates, from the "know nothiing" and "dixiecrat" parties, to respetable bids by George Wallace, John Anderson, Ross Perot and Ralph Nader. Even though none of these candidates won their eleciton, Schoen points out that they all did remarkably well considering how stacked the decks were against them (decks that can be restacked thanks to emerging technology).

This brings us to the next section: Schoen's optimistic detailing of how third party candidates could do better than ever in our current climate. The internet, 24 hour news, the blogosphere, etc., are making it easier and easier to get around many of the hurdles third parties once faced. Need quick mobilization from grassroot supporters? Shoot an e-mail and post a message to your blog. Want to get good airtime? Youtube can be just as effective as CNN. Schoen points to Howard Dean and Jesse Ventura (former Minnesota Governor) as prime examples of canidates who harnessed these tools to good effect. And little did Schoen know, but republican "fringe" candidate Ron Paul would confirm all of Schoen's points by using technology in exactly these ways (even beating the one-day fundraising record of any candidate in history!)

Now, what I did not like about the book is that on several points, Schoen is simply wrong. He appeals to third parties to provide a strong middle-voice against a two party system he says that is polarized and radicalized. Of ocurse, he neglects that all the existing third parties (socialist, libertarian, constitution, etc) are located very far from the political center, and that many polls show that people percieve the two parties as too similar, rather than too different. (And let's not forget that the closest thing to a successful third party bid in '08 was Ron Paul's - far from the center, ineed.)

The other thing is that Schoen predicted that strong third party candidates could come along in '08 and use the power of this new technology to their advantage. What he forgets is that this technology could also be successfully employed by the two major parties. In fact, many will agree that the Obama campaign used the internet very effectively, helping him to win the '08 elecitn (without any strong third party showing). If anything, this weakens Schoen's case that the third parties were much more likely to employ the power of the internet before the Republicans and Democrats.

Still, Schoen's is an argument that needs to be heard. I do think he is corect that too many people vote for the Republicrats because of a "lesser of two evils" mentality ("I hate McCain so I guess I'll vote for Obama."). Were a strong third party voice to emerge, I do think that they COULD use Schoen's advice for good benefit.

Unfortunately, I guess we'll have to wait until 2012.

I had read a few of Douglas Schoen's other books and decided to read this one. As a long-time pollster, Schoen knows the mindset of the average American and explains that in this book. What he also does an excellent job with is explaining the challenges that exist for a 3rd party candidate to have a real shot at winning a presedential election. The paradox is that many Americans are open to the possibility of voting for a 3rd party candidate for president, but only if they think that he/she has a "real" chance of winning. Based on the present system of Democrat/Republican domination and 50 states with 50 different ballot rules, this seems unlikely to change anytime in the near future.

Edit of 1 July 2008 to change transpartisan to non-partisan, add flyleaf notes from second reading, and delete observations found wanting by Amazon visitors.

This is without question a very important book, a companion to both Spoiling for a Fight: Third-Party Politics in America and Running On Empty: How The Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It. After a second reading, I now see this book as a primer in a class of its own and understand the author's background with greater appreciation.

One important comment: Both candidates are "keep the `bi-partisan' spoils system" alive candidates. They are of, by, and for the elites, and they are both out of touch with global reality such as depicted in A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility--Report of the Secretary-General's High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. Barack Obama is a Manchurian candidate, a Trilateral Commission "House Negro" (as his own pastors of color have put it); see Obama - The Postmodern Coup: Making of a Manchurian Candidate for details.

Following my fly-leaf notes are a few observations, cut in half from my earlier review.

+ 75% of American voters are dissatisfied with the way things are going and generally do not trust either the political parties or the federal government--misery is at an all time high as is distrust
+ Voters "crave" real solutions
+ The time is right for a third party ticket, and the NYC race of Mayor Bloomberg in 2005 is the model
+ 3 out of 5 voters dislike BOTH parties
+ 61% feel they are not living the American dream
+ Being "on message" does not cut it--interaction and authentic tough focus on issues is demanded
+ Non-partisan solutions, with common sense, addressing tough problems, are demanded
+ Democracy in a crisis because the system itself lacks credibility (both political and federal)
+ Governor Schwarzenegger is on the right track
+ Half of all registered voters thing a 3rd party is a good idea
+ Restless & Anxious Moderates (RAM) are the swing vote
+ Fiscla discipline with a balanced budget, and being in touch with voter values, essential
+ Top two reasons people are Independents are both ANTI-PARTY: vote issues and candidate, not party
+ Parties are polarized, people are not
+ Need new fresh blood, open minds
+ 3rd parties are *not* odd man out, have a rich history
+ Ballot access is critical, needs 800,000 signatures
+ If not already done for the following states by today (1 July 2008), they are off the books: Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, Maine, Pennsylovania, Delaware (because of registration deadlines)
+ Internet blogging, YouTube, and texting (as well as ads to cell phones) have changed the dynamic
+ Democratic dirty tricks against Nader detailed (I am personally aghast--like Rove on McCain)
+ Nonpartisan Citizens Union could be a group to watch (see also Reuniting America)
+ Citing David Colarusso to Newsweek: "Web 2.0 has the potential to actually compel candidates to be genuine (page 141)
+ Independent must craft authentic grassroots citizen-based movement, field candidates for governor
+ Colin Powell is strongest candidate (author may not know Mrs. Powell has demanded, and received, a promise never to run), followed by Mike Bloomberg (I favor Powell back as Secretary of State, with his integrity this time)
+ Win or lose, a solid Independent candidacy will be able to influence the debate as well as the election (in the Electoral College, or in the House of Representatives) and lead a body of opinion thereafter.

FACT: Dick Cheney hijacked the White House and no one is willing to hold him accountable. BOTH the Democratic floormats and the Republican foot soldiers should be run out of office. I have no wish to impeach Dick Cheney. He simply needs to be removed from office and never again allowed to betray the public trust.

Sidenote:
REFS:
Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency
The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11

FACT: Congress abdicated its Article 1 responsibilities, a sin for which Al Gore especially culpable in failing to support the McKinney House resolution to re-do Florida. Every one of these folks merits an independent challenge.

REFS:
The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track (Institutions of American Democracy)
Breach of Trust: How Washington Turns Outsiders into Insiders
...and...
Society's Breakthrough!: Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People
The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All

In my view, Mike Bloomberg is the only truly credible independent, see my review of his own book, Bloomberg by Bloomberg. If I had one minute with Mike Bloomberg, this is what I would say:

1) Win or lose, you can *be* the catalyst for creating an "open books" alternative government at all levels

2) $20 each from 25 million Americans buys our government back, make it a subscription and we can migrate the new system to the rest of the world

3) A nonpartisan coalition sunshine cabinet, each person leading thousands of citizen wisdom councils focused on each Cabinet's respective areas of concern, will change the debate and inform America overnight

4) A balanced budget online, where everyone can debate and then see aggregated differences by zip code and party affiliation (anonymous otherwise) will enable strong leadership.

That's it. All we need is a really rich guy willing to stake the new system (Perot did not), be authentic, and LISTEN.